The Flat
by Gilly Bean2
Summary: AU, All Human. He wanted her, but could he have her? Spuffy
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is a re-write on an earlier work of mine, previously called Flat Mates. Hopefully, it comes out better in the long run. Let me know your thoughts!**

**_Chapter 1, Finding a Place_**

Buffy glanced out the window in her small apartment with disdain. She hated this place, but her job as a waitress didn't afford a large choice in homes. Her mother had been hounding her to find a new job, and therefore, a new place to live. As nice as all that sounded, Buffy had been looking for both with little success. Over the past month, she had been snagging the day old papers left at work to scan the help wanted ads, and the apartment ads.

Neither was providing her with a lot of options at this point. When she located apartments she could afford, they were either gone quickly, or in an equally dismal location. Jobs seemed to be few and far between these days, so they were also often snatched up well before she could apply.

After looking out the water spotted, dirty window for several minutes, Buffy glanced back at the paper. She was about to fold it when an ad caught her eye under the Wanted ads. It was located in the wrong spot, a place she hadn't been looking. _Mid 20's male seeking 2 flat mates to share expenses and large flat. Utilities split 1/3, rent $225 per person, plus utilities. Male or female. 555-3202, 3529 #202 West End AVE, Sunnydale. Apply by phone or in person. Ask for William._

Buffy was more than a little surprised as she read, then re-read the ad. She bit her lip, and considered her options. At the low price, she could afford it now, with money left over for once. She was paying almost $400 a month for the dump she was staying in now, on top of the high cost to have both electric and gas in her apartment. She had given up on keeping a phone several months back, and cable TV was a luxury she hadn't yet been able to afford.

Tugging at her lip, Buffy considered her options. Having a roommate, specifically a male roommate, could be problematic. It could open her up to problems she would much rather avoid all together. On the other hand, saving several hundreds of dollars a month meant that in a few months, she might be able to afford to move into her own nice apartment. Especially if she were able to get another part time job.

She didn't so much mind working at the diner, but the hours were unpredictable. Reading the ad once more, Buffy made the decision to at least look at the place before deciding on her future. She quickly cleaned up her breakfast mess, and walked to the bathroom to change into her work clothing. There were still a few hours before she had to be to work, but it would give her the time to stop by the apartment, and to try and stop by one or two of the jobs she had circled in the paper. After getting into the nearly day-glo orange waitress dress, and pulling her hair back, Buffy was ready to leave.

She made sure to lock up when she left, though she knew there was little worth stealing in her place. Hurrying down the steps, Buffy came out into the slightly chilly morning weather, and glanced at her watch. There was just enough time to get to the bus stop before the right bus would arrive. Buffy walked briskly to the bus stop, and waited for the West End bus to arrive. It would drive towards the nicer neighborhood, and from there, she could walk to the apartment.

After swiping her bus pass, Buffy made her way towards the back door of the bus, and sat down, avoiding the eyes of the other people on the bus. She looked out the window, and watched as the patchy looking lawns slowly gave way to nicer lawns, then finally, lawns that even had flowers planted. After several stops, Buffy stood, and waited at the door. Finally, the bus came to a halt, and she quickly made her way off it.

Buffy looked at the address on the paper once more, and glanced around before starting in a direction, and hoping for the best. It wasn't long until she came across a nice set of apartment buildings, and found the right one. It wasn't far from the bus stop, which was a big bonus in Buffy's non-driving mind. The apartment number suggested a second floor apartment, but there was a door buzzer to get past before she could be let into the building, which was another bonus in its favor. Glancing at the paper once more, Buffy moved her finger down the list of apartment numbers, and found the right one. There was no name on it, like some of the apartments, but she pressed it anyway, before losing her nerve.

"Yeah, what is it?" A grouchy voice growled through the intercom after a minute or two. He had a nice accent. Australian, she thought for a moment, then shook her head. _No, British, and rather nice_.

"I'm stopping by because of the ad in the paper? For a roomie?" Her voice was hesitant at first, but she shrugged it off, and pushed away the nervous butterflies in her belly. There was silence for a moment, and Buffy was beginning to wonder if she was too late to apply.

"Oh. Right. Come on up, then. First door on the left up the stairs." There was a loud buzz as the door was released, and Buffy walked in and up the steps. The door was already open, and a tousled bleach blonde head was sticking out of it. "Right here, ducks. 'aven't got all day." Buffy blushed as she picked up her dragging feet, and quickly made it to the top of the stairs.

"Hi, my name is Buffy. You must be William?" She finished it off with a questioning tone, and held her hand out towards him. He quickly shook it, and showed her in. His bleached hair was mussed from sleep, and she could tell from his blurry eyes, she had woken him. Glancing down at her watch, she sighed in relief to note it was already almost 10:30, so she figured it must have been nearly time for him to be up anyway.

"Yeah, tha's me. The place is still available. Rent's $225, and the utilities usually come out to about $60 a person after they're split. That includes phone, internet, cable, gas, and electric. Any long distance calls are your own to cover. You're the first to apply, so you can have your pick of the loft or the bedroom that's left. Loft's bigger, but kind of open." He gestured upward, where Buffy saw a waist high wall running along the side, with a set of steps leading back down to the living area. There was no door at all to shut, and no privacy with the open wall. There was a sky light in the room as well.

"So, you want?" His voice brought her eyes back down to his, and she noticed for the first time how bright blue they were, like the sky on a bright, clear day.

"I… can I look around first? I mean… well, it's nice, but I've never had a room mate, and I'm still not sure if I want one." William nodded briefly, and started walking through the apartment. Straight to the left of the main door was a gallery style kitchen, with a small dining room on the end. In it was a mismatched table set with 3 chairs, pushed up against a window over looking the parking lot. The kitchen looked clean, but had a distinctly unused look to it as well.

"Tha's the kitchen. Don't use it much. Anything left in there is likely from my old mates. They left quite a bit of junk when they moved out few months back." William said as he walked past the kitchen, and into the living room. It wasn't an overly large living room, and housed an old sofa and recliner, a desk with a computer, and a massive TV and entertainment setup. It wasn't hard to see where he sunk his money. The TV was flat, and mounted on the wall. Under it, she saw a video game system of some sort, a collection of games, and some other odds and ends. Buffy looked around and saw piles of papers on the available side tables. She glanced down at one, which was written on in pencil.

"I write songs. Still trying to sell em. You'll find those all over from time to time."

"Oh, that's nice." She spoke softly, and moved towards the end of the living room. A hallway lead under the stairs with 3 doors in it. One was open, leading to a rather large bathroom. The other two were closed. She glanced in the bathroom, and saw some piles of dirty towels and clothing, but it was otherwise clean. William moved past her and opened up the door to a small bedroom, which was partially furnished still with a bed and bare mattress. She glanced in the room. It was tiny, but serviceable. It would not allow for much room for her things, but most of the large things she planned to get rid of anyway.

After looking around for a moment, she turned, and found William's eyes on her. He glanced away quickly, and a bored look replaced the strange one he'd been wearing. It was an intense look, but gone so quickly, she almost thought she imagined it.

"Can I see the loft? I think… I think I'll take the lease, but I want to see that first." Buffy brushed past him, and walked towards the stairs to the living room. Before starting up them, she glanced back at him. He was still in the bedroom doorway, his back to her. She could tell his muscles were tense, but after a moment, he shook his arms out, and turned towards her. Catching her eyes, he gave a brief, tight smile. Buffy blushed at being caught staring, and started up the stairs.

Buffy found the loft partially filled with boxes of odds and ends. William came up behind her and glanced around. He had forgotten that his old girlfriend, Drusilla, had left so much stuff behind when she had taken off.

"It mostly belongs to my old… uh, flat mates. They've both been gone for a few months, and haven't asked about it. I doubt they'll come back for any of this stuff. If you want any of it, feel free. The rest of it, we can toss. The loft is pretty big, as you can see. Plenty of space, even if it is a bit open. There's also a garage, by the way, but I have it in use. You drive?"

Laughing softly, Buffy shook her head no. "Buffy and cars are very unmixy." She started walking towards some of the boxes in the back, and noticed some pieces of furniture buried under and behind some of the boxes. Several boxes were open, and had some feminine looking clothing spilling out the tops. Without really glancing through it, she went back over to look down from the waist high wall. She could see the very bottom of the door leading out from here, and part of the dining room, as well as most of the living room.

She glanced up at the ceiling, and saw it was about 5 feet from the top of the wall to the top of the ceiling. She considered it, and thought maybe she could get some curtains to hang from the ceiling. After another glance back at the size, and considering the size of the bedroom, she nodded a bit.

"I think I'll take the loft. It's kind of neat, and there's more room for all my stuff. Not that I plan to bring a lot of stuff, but still." She turned and smiled at him.

William smiled back as he nodded, then turned down the stairs. He walked over to his desk, and rummaged through it. Coming up with a paper, he walked over to where she had come to a stop. In his hands was a sublet lease agreement from the main office. "I need you to sign this, so the office knows who is living here, and so you know the basic rules of the place. Nothing weird, just keep it quiet, no destructiveness, etc." His eyes rolled as he talked about the rules, then he winked at her as a smirk settled on his face. She grinned, and nodded as she took the lease, and read through it quickly. After a moments hesitation, she signed the bottom and handed it back to him.

"So, luv, when you moving in?" He asked, his accent more pronounced now. She looked up at him with a smile.

"As soon as I can contract help. I have a month to month lease, so I'd like to be out before the end of the month. That way, no double rent. I…" Buffy trailed off as her eyes widened a bit, and looked up at him. "Do I have to pay double rent? When do you need rent? I can't believe I didn't ask that!" She looked worried, knowing she would not have the money right now to pay for rent on this place. He noticed the look on her face, and shook his head.

"No worries. You can move in now. Rent's due on the 5th, so you have time." He said it softly, even though he knew he had been planning to ask for the rent up front. Oh well, he figured. He needed the flat mates, and beggars can't be choosers. "What kind of help is tha' you need, exactly?"

"Well, I think I will get rid of all my bigger furniture. It's not exactly nice. I'll need help disposing of it, and then help transporting boxes here. One or two boxes at a time on the bus will take me a while," Buffy told William. He cursed himself silently even as the next words popped out of his mouth.

"If you need some help, I can help you move boxes."

"Oh, no, that's all right. Xander has a truck for work, so I'll just bribe him into slave labor with a pizza." Without wondering why, William felt a twinge of jealousy at the reference to the male.

"Xander?"

"Yeah, Xander. He's a friend from high school who stuck around town like I did. Most of my friends went away for college."

William nodded, and felt slightly relieved. "Ah, 'l right then. Any time you want to move in, you're welcome to. I work nights over at the plastics factory, and 3 afternoons a week, I help out at my uncle's shop downtown. I'm not really here much, but if you warn me ahead of time, I can try to make sure I'm here." William told her, before walking over to the desk, and rummaging in the drawer. He pulled a key out.

"Here's a key. You're welcome to pop in any time. That'll get you in the main door, and the apartment door. If you think you might lose it, make a spare, but please don't hand any keys out. Had a mate once do that, and came home to strangers filling my flat at all hours."

"Oh, that's no problem, really. I hang out with Xander, and sometimes go out with friends from work, but really I'm not very social." Buffy smiled somewhat shyly towards him and started for the door. "I'll stop over before I move in, ok? I don't have a phone, so I can't call to let you know, but I'll leave a note or something if you aren't home. I'd also like to thank you. This helps out a lot, and… well, it's a huge step up from where I live now, for like a lot less than I'm paying. I'll be back in a day or two to move in.

William nodded, and held his hand out towards her. Buffy took the proffered hand and shook it with a smile. After Buffy left, William smiled despite the early wake up call. He walked over to the window, and watched as she walked down the path towards the main road. As she walked away, he grabbed a notebook, and started jotting down some lyrics that she had helped inspire.

**AN: Remember, feed your starving writer with reviews, good and bad. We learn from our mistakes!**


	2. Chapter 2 Her Luck Is Looking Up

**AN: Thank you for the reviews! This story won't be drastically different than the first, which can be read in my story list, under the title "Flat Mates". It will be cleaned up, though, and small things added or taken away, where ever my muse strikes. Please, continue to enjoy, and let me know what you think!**

_**Chapter 2- Her luck is looking up**_

Buffy glanced at her watch as she got back on the bus with a smile. She still had time to try and pick up applications at two stores downtown that had Help Wanted ads in the paper. There were three jobs she had circled, but one was too far out of her way to be able to stop in just now. Of the two on her way, one was a shop that sold clothing to older women, and the other was an odd ball shop that sold magic tricks, and jokes, and who knew what else.

The bus pulled up to the nearest stop, and Buffy got out. She glanced at the paper, then at the addresses, and turned towards the clothing shop. It was before the magic shop, but when Buffy got to it, she just cringed, and decided to come back after checking out the magic shop. She just wasn't sure if she was ready to smell like mothballs all day.

She found the Magic Box shop tucked away into a corner, and entered it. The shop was dark, and smelled spicy. While there was a section devoted to the more common magic tricks, and joke products, the shop looked like it catered to a more Wicca based clientele. There were books, candles, jars and racks of various spices, herbs, roots, and flowers, as well as occult looking objects. Buffy stopped and just looked around at the shop for several moments before a soft spoken blonde girl about her age approached her.

"Welcome to the Magic Box. My name is Tara, is there anything I can help you find?" She asked in a soft lilting voice.

"Actually, I saw the help wanted ad in the paper, and I was hoping to fill out an application, if the position hasn't been filled yet." Buffy said in a hopeful voice. She glanced around the room a bit, before her gaze fell back onto Tara's. Tara smiled reassuringly, and shook her head.

"It has not been filled yet. If you would like, you can fill the application out here, or take it home and bring it back. Mr. Giles, the proprietor, is here today, and can likely speak with you now, if you fill it out here." Tara walked over to the counter, and thumbed through a pile of papers, until she found an application. She handed it to Buffy, as well as an ink pen.

"Thank you so much! I'll fill it out here, then. Thanks!" Buffy sat down at a table in the book section, and started filling it out. When it came time to fill our the address, she bit her lip, then opened the newspaper to fill out both the phone number and address. When she was done, Buffy handed the paper back to the pretty young woman, and waited for her to take it into the back. Tara was back in a few moments, and smiled at Buffy.

"You can follow me back if you would like now. Mr. Giles can see you." Buffy smiled nervously as she walked into the back room. She was shown into a small office where an older man was sitting, a pair of glasses perched on his nose as he read over her application.

"Ah, Miss Summers, please have a seat. I just need to…" He trailed off as he finished reading the application, and Buffy wondered if he was absentminded a bit. She sat quietly while he finished it. When he finished, Mr. Giles sat the paper down, and pulled his glasses off. He pinched the bridge of his nose slightly, and cleaned the lenses before replacing them on his face.

"Miss Summers… this phone number, is it yours? It's familiar."

"Actually… I just signed a lease on a new apartment today, and that's my new room mates number. I don't have my own phone number right now. You should be able to reach me there after this weekend, though." Buffy explained to him. Mr. Giles nodded then pulled out his rolodex, and flipped through it for a moment. He paused, then smiled a bit, and nodded.

"Ah, yes. That would be why it is so familiar. You'll have to forgive me; I was lost in trying to locate the number and address in my mind. I do believe you must be renting in with William, Miss Summers. Am I correct?" His expression cleared from the weirdness, and a smile lit on his features as he looked over at her now. "Did he send you in for a job, or was it the ad in the paper?"

"You know William? How bizarre is that? I just met him today, he had an ad in the paper as well. I saw this ad this morning, too." She hoped the association would be a helpful one in getting the job, but held her breath slightly anyway.

"He is my nephew, and works here with me a few afternoons a week. Now, I suppose we should continue on with the interview. I need help in the mornings, 2 days a week, and on Saturday during the day. The hours will only be about 15 or 20 a week, and the pay is $7.15 an hour. Pay is weekly, and of course, there is a, ah… discount of 20% on anything you find in the store. Do you, ah, have any knowledge of Magical items?"

"Um, not… really. Is that going to be a problem? I mean, I learn fast. I can figure out most of this stuff pretty quick. I… I really need a second job. I haven't had much luck in finding one, and I promise, I work hard and never call in." Her voice was slightly pleading towards the end of the rambling. "And… you really probably don't care that I really need a job, huh? Sorry, I'm nervous, and a nervous Buffy is a rambly Buffy."

Mr. Giles observed her as he listened, and jotted down a few notes at the end section of the application. He smiled at her when she stopped. "No, dear, it's all right. I like to get a feel for the person, and people can be so fake when they do interviews. Well, I think I have everything I need here. When can you start?"

"You're giving me the job?" Buffy's stunned reply came quickly, before she could stop it. Mr. Giles grinned.

"I believe you can do a good job here, so yes."

"I can start tomorrow. I work at a diner not far from here, but I will be out by 5 tomorrow. I can be here by 5:30, ready to go."

"That would be perfect, Miss Summers. William works tomorrow, so he'll be able to help train you." Mr. Giles stood up, and held out his hand towards her. "Welcome aboard, Miss Summers."

Buffy squealed a bit, then drew in a deep breath and blushed, before taking his hand and shaking it excitedly. "Oh, thank you. I really appreciate this. You won't regret it, I promise. And please, call me Buffy."

* * *

Buffy was smiling as she got home to her dirty apartment that night after her pick up shift. She had wound up working much later than anticipated, due to one of the waitresses calling in, but she'd walked out with almost $60 in tips from the extra hours. Buffy made sure to let her boss know she would be moving, and asked for that Saturday off. She was granted it, provided she find a replacement. With the hours being hard to come by, that hadn't been a problem at all.

When she walked up the drive, she saw Xander's truck sitting out front, and Xander himself sitting on the steps waiting for her. She grinned and walked up to him. As she approached, he stood up, and brushed his pants off.

"Late night, Buffster? If I had known, I would have picked you up."

"No big, I can use the exercise, and I made extra money today. I have good news! I have to get some sleep tonight, because tomorrow, I start my new job, then when I get home, I need to pack because this weekend, you are moving me into a new apartment!"

Xander blinked as he started Buffy, while Buffy unlocked the door to her apartment. "Whoa… did you say sleep?"

"Really? That's all you got from that?" She pushed her door open, and wrinkled her nose as she entered the apartment. "Xander… focus. I got a new job, and such an awesome new apartment! The only down fall is that there is a roomie, but he's not bad."

"Again with the whoa! He?" Xander gave her his patented 'disapproving-big-brother' look as he crossed his arms over his chest, and set his stance wider. "I don't think so, Buff. This is a big, resounding NO!"

"I already signed the lease, Xan. You can meet him when you move me in on Saturday. I don't have to work at all. Don't worry, you'll like the place. I have a loft, and it's bigger than the living room and bedroom I have now put together. Oh, hey! Idea! He's looking to take on two room mates, and as of this morning, I was the only one to respond. It's cheap, too, Xander."

Buffy went into the kitchen to grab a drink, and ended up screeching as a cockroach skittered across the floor. Xander came rushing in, saw it, and stomped on it before it could disappear again.

"How cheap is cheap?" Xander was living with his parents to conserve money, but the situation was less than ideal. He was paying them rent, living in the basement, and had to abide by the rules of the house still. He had been hoping to find his own place, but only after he had some decent savings built up.

"The rent is $225 a month. The bedroom that's left is kind of small, but you'd have free reign over the rest of the apartment, not like at home where you are stuck in the basement. William said we split utilities. He thinks it'll be about $60 a month for those. We could call over there on your cell, but he works nights."

"All right, I'll help you pack. Maybe we can talk to him about the extra room soon. I don't like the idea of you being there alone, though. Buff. He could be some sort of pervert. Or a vampire. Maybe he's made of bugs."

Buffy laughed, and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, stranger things have happened." Xander told her, before picking up the phone to call for a pizza delivery. "Pizza? I'm buying."

Buffy nodded and started to dig around in the back of the closet for some trash bags. She decided there was no time like the present to get started with packing.

**AN: There you have it, the chapter 2 rewrite! This story should be posted pretty quickly, as the major work is done already with the story line and writing. As always, I take constructive criticism, and compliments! Feed your starving writer!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: While this chapter doesn't differ much, I was able to clean up the grammar a lot, and add around 500 words to the actual chapter. I hope you enjoy!**_

**Chapter 3**

Buffy was running late already as she hurried towards the bus stop. Instead of being able to change her clothes at the diner, she was stuck in the day-glo uniform still. A backpack sat across her back with some plain clothing to wear at the Magic Box. Glancing at her watch, Buffy groaned. She was going to have to wait for the next bus, which would make her even more late, and on her first day.

Last night, Buffy and Xander had stayed up until nearly 2 am, packing things, throwing things away, and setting stuff aside for donating to charity. She was keeping her bed, a dresser, and a nice kitchen table her mother had given her. Aside from that, most of her furniture would be given away.

As she shifted her weight from foot to foot anxiously, the bus finally appeared around a corner, and rumbled up to the stop. Buffy entered quickly, and swiped her bus pass. She made her way to the back, and sat near the rear doors for the 10 minute ride towards downtown. Her thoughts were scattered, flittering from Xander to William, to her new job, and her old job. So much had changed for her in only a single day. Buffy was happy for all of it, but nervous at the same time. Now she was just hoping that the second room was still available, so Xander could move in as well.

Buffy was pulled from her revere when the bus pulled up to a stop a block from the small shop. She hurried out the doos, and jogged down the street at a quick pace. She glanced at her watch as she came through the door, and saw that she was only about 10 minutes late. Hurrying towards the back, she smiled apologetically at Tara when she passed through.

"Hello, Buffy. William's in the back office, he said to just go straight back." Tara smiled as Buffy walked towards the back, and dropped her backpack just outside the office door. She knocked and waited.

"Yeah, come in." William said as he went over the paper work in front of him. He glanced up, and smiled when he saw Buffy standing there. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a bun, with small tendrils hanging loose around her face. _Cor, I forgot just how pretty she is_, he thought. He straightened in the chair, and forced his mind off her looks. William glanced at the clock just to the side of the door, and put a disapproving frown on his face.

"You're late. Is this going to be a habit? If you need more time, we could schedule you at 6, instead of 5:30." Buffy blushed, and William was struck again by her looks. She quickly shook her head, and smiled sheepishly.

"I got out late at the diner, and then I missed the bus, and… I'm sorry. No, this won't be a habit." She watched him with hopeful eyes as she bit at her lower lip, a habit she'd had since she was a child. Her mother was constantly after her to stop.

"It's all right, just call if you know you'll be running late. Uncle Rup can be a bit anal at times. I won't even mention this one." He dropped the frown, and replaced it with a smirk. _His eyes are so blue_, she thought, as he winked at her playfully. Buffy relaxed visibly after that. "You plan to work in that uni?" His eyes traveled down the short orange dress with a grin on his face, before they ended up on her tanned legs. He tore his gaze away from the shapely legs, and looked into her eyes.

"No! Oh, a whole world of no! I brought a change of clothing, but I wanted to let you know I was here before changing. Uh... is there a bathroom?" Buffy knew her face was tinged a pale pink from his lingering gaze on her legs, but she tried to push it away, and ignore it. He quickly nodded, and pointed behind her. Just across from the office was another door.

"You can change in there. When you're done, we'll get started learning the ropes." William smiled warmly at her, and she once more found her face growing pink from a blush as she backed out of the room. She stumbled into the door frame, and her blush became worse, before she turned and ducked quickly out of the room. Buffy grabbed her backpack and locked herself into the small bathroom. William grinned as he watched her leaving, and shook his head to clear the no so appropriate thoughts from it.

In the bathroom, Buffy quickly pulled her uniform off, and pulled on a pair of hip hugging jeans, followed by a cute maroon shirt that looked nice and work-appropriate to her. It simply had fluttery cap sleeves, and clung to her belly just a bit, but didn't reveal her chest, or look like it belonged at a dance club instead of work.

When she finished, she looked up into the mirror, and cringed. _No wonder he was staring,_ Buffy thought. _I'm a greasy wreck!_ Buffy quickly pulled her hair out of the elastic band, and dug out a brush from her bag. She started brushing it briskly, and spritzed a small amount of vanilla body spray into her hair to help disguise the scent of fried burgers.

Turning away from the mirror in disgust, she stuffed the brush and day-glo uniform into her backpack, and slipped her feet into a pair of sandals before tucking her more serviceable waitressing shoes into the backpack. Finally, she pulled a tube of lip gloss from her bag, and added a quick swipe, then left the small room. She tucked her backpack off to the side in the back room, and poked her head back into the office.

"I'm all set." William glanced up, and found himself staring for a moment. The transformation was subtle, but there was a noticeable difference in how she looked, and he found himself once more thinking inappropriate thoughts as he looked at her. He shook his head slightly, and smiled.

"All set to learn the how's and why's of magic?"

"I told Mr. Giles, but I should warn you that I don't know anything about magic. I learn fast, usually, though, so yes, I'm ready." Buffy watched him stand up and walk towards her. He was wearing a nice tight blue shirt, and she found her mind drifting for a moment. His eyes were intense, and looked even more blue up close. _I wonder what they look like even closer… like, lips locked closer_, she wondered briefly. Buffy closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around to walk out into the store. "Before I forget, is the other room still available? I have a friend who might be looking for a place."

"No, 'aven't had any nibbles for it." William said, as he looked at her from the back. His eyes drifted down until they rested on her arse. He smiled a bit, then looked up, and caught Tara looking towards them with an arched eyebrow, and a small smirk on her face, before she turned back to her book. William drew in a deep breath, before concentrating on what Buffy was saying.

"My friend Xander, I mentioned him? He's been staying with his parents in their basement, and it's not ideal. I told him about the other room, and he wants to see it. He was planning to pick me up tonight from work, and I was kind of hoping you wouldn't mind talking to him, and maybe showing him the place?" Buffy turned back to glance over her shoulder at him. She was fidgeting a bit, but it went hand in hand with the lip tugging, and rambling. It was something she did when she was nervous, as she was at the moment.

"Sure, pet. Tha's fine. Shop closes up at 10. I go to work tonight at 11, so maybe we can cut out a bit early, so I have time to show him before going to work. Can he get here before then?" William briefly considered how his last two mates had worked out, Drusilla and Liam. They hadn't known each other, but both knew him. It had ended badly when they ran off together, and left William with a pile of unpaid bills, and a broken lease. He was still paying for their mess. The mess had been made worse in that he had been seeing Dru when she moved in, and she had been seeing Liam by the time they left. William decided abruptly that the only way to get through having Buffy as a flat mate, would be to keep his emotions in check.

"I sort of didn't know what time the shop closed. He's supposed to be here at 9, but I can call him and ask him to come later, if that's all right? I mean, I don't have a cell, I'd have to use the phone here… if that's… well, not a problem."

"No, 9 should be fine. He might have to hang a bit, 's that all right?"

"Oh, yes, totally. He won't mind at all."

"Perfect. Let's get to work. We'll wow Uncle Rup yet."

*******

William unlocked the door, and waited while Buffy and her friend Xander walked in. Xander was starting to wear on his nerves. From the moment he'd arrived at the shop to pick his friend up, Xander had been staring at William, studying him, watching how he interacted with Buffy. William understood it just fine, the whelp was being protective. He couldn't blame him, but it was irking him none the less. He could see where it was a less than ideal situation, a young woman moving in with a guy she didn't know. William stepped aside as the two passed into the hallway, and Buffy lead the way up the stairs towards the apartment.

At the top of the stairs, she triumphantly pulled out her own key, and unlocked the door. She was standing aside while Xander glanced around when William came through the door. Xander wore a look of awe as his eyes settled on the entertainment unit, until he glanced back and saw William. His features quickly grew bored and disinterested. William held in a laugh, before removing his leather duster, and hanging it in the closet.

"So, follow me, Xander. I'll show you around quickly, then I need to get going. I work night, and have to be there at 11. Back here is the room you'd have." William told the boy as he walked down the hallway, and opened the door to the room. Xander nodded as he followed behind William, his head swiveling all around as he took in the nice apartment.

While the boys were talking, Buffy wandered up the stairs to look at her space. She would be moving in the next day, Saturday, and couldn't wait. She noticed that several of the items had been cleaned up, or at least stacked much neater than they were before. It looked like a few boxes were missing, but she couldn't tell. Buffy wandered over and opened a box that held clothing. As she poked through it, she could hear William letting Xander know the prices, and heard him agree to the lease. She smiled and walked over to the waist high wall to look down as Xander was signing the lease.

"All set?" She asked the two men, who turned to look up at her. Xander looked almost giddy, while William had an almost unreadable expression on his face. They both nodded at her, before William turned towards Xander again.

"So, I need to get going, but there's a bunch of stuff in the loft that I told Buffy she could go through and keep or toss, if she wanted to. You both have a key, feel free to stick around if you want, or not. Buffy, luv, are you moving in tomorrow?" He glanced back up at her, and inwardly cringed at the endearment that slipped out.

Buffy nodded as she walked down the stairs to meet them in the living room.

"That's the plan. Probably late afternoon by the time we get everything done. We can stick around and sort some of the stuff upstairs, as long as you don't mind." William shook his head with a smile.

"It's your place now, too. I'll see you both tomorrow then." William started to move when Buffy gave him an impulsive hug. His eyes closed for a moment and let his arms wrap around her, before she pulled back, well before either of them wanted to.

"Sorry, I just… well, we both really appreciate this. Thanks, William." William just nodded, and disappeared into his room, cursing the promise he had made to leave his emotions out of this deal. _She was so soft, _he thought._ Why can't I just bury her in my arms, and keep her there? Because, you bloody ponce, ain't likely she'll stay there._

Buffy watched him disappear into his room, and held a sigh in check. _How is it I don't even know him, and yet, I want nothing more than to spend the evening right there, in his arms?_ She bit back another sigh, and turned towards Xander. Meanwhile, Xander had watched both Buffy and William, and couldn't help but wonder just what might happen between the two. The only hope he had, was that William wouldn't turn into another Parker. Xander hoped he wouldn't have to comfort Buffy again, like he did before.

Xander gave Buffy a playful smile when her gaze turned towards him, and motioned up the stairs before starting up them.

"Man, you got the big room. Wanna trade, Buff?"

_**AN: As always, feed your starving writer with reviews!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Xander and Buffy sat surrounded by boxes up in the loft. Around them, an assortment of tasteless junk- clothing that would qualify more as costumes than clothes, cheap dolls, and some more provocative items they refused to actually touch bare handed. Perched on Buffy's head was a wide brimmed floppy purple hat, complete with the most hideous combination of green and orange feathers. A deep red feather boa was draped around her shoulders, and a pair of yellow rhinestone studded sunglasses sat on her nose. Creepy gothic music was playing in the small cd player they had uncovered, and Xander was bopping his head in an all together too cheerful way.

"Ok, I don't know what kind of woman this chick was, but daaaaaamn…" Xander's voice broke through over the obnoxious music, and Buffy started to laugh at a pair of realistic fake vampire teeth Xander was holding up. "And look, blood packets!" Xander held up small packs of fake blood in his other hand.

"Well, there's a few things I think I'll keep, but wow. Most of this stuff should be shipped to a small country, and never brought back." Buffy said as she stood up, and tossed the feather confection from her head. She walked over, and brought back another box. In this one, everything on top was red and black. Red candles, black cloth, red and black glittery knick knacks. Buffy pulled the items off the top, and pulled out a long black and red jacket, lined with black satin. "Hmm… this is kind of cool, for like, Halloween. Wonder how much this girl spends on clothing."

"I'm getting a whole bride of Satan vibe off this chick. She probably cursed these things." Xander looked at her with a lopsided grin, as he put on a pair of black heart shaped sunglasses on. Buffy looked at him and started to laugh as she tried the jacket on. She glanced back in the box, and found a pretty tiara made of smoke colored stones. She picked it up and put it on before striking a pose for Xander.

Xander grinned, then dug through his box some more, before Buffy did the same. Near the bottom of the box, she found some papers bound together with ribbons through the punch holes. She moved over to a crushed velvet covered bean bag chair, and sat down to read. She felt mildly guilty at digging through the boxes, but even more so in reading the personal letters. They read like gothic love notes, talking about blood, and death, and mayhem. They were signed with the 'name' Spike at the end of each one. Buffy wrinkled her nose a bit, and set the letters aside.

"Xan, maybe we should clean up and set aside the stuff we absolutely don't want, so we can get rid of it. I still have a lot of packing to do at home. I'll leave a note for William about the stuff we're keeping." She stood up, and started tossing the crazy clothes back into the boxes, but kept the feather boa out. She tossed it onto her small pile, and put the clothing boxes up against the wall. The letters were buried again in one of the boxes.

After they finished organizing the boxes, and got the ones they were absolutely not keeping down to the main floor, Buffy left a note for William. She had kept the furniture up there, as it was pretty nice stuff. All in all, there was a desk and chair, a night stand, the bean bag chair, and a small lingerie dresser. Thankfully, it was empty. She had also kept a few of the items of clothing for potential Halloween costumes. Xander had kept the small stereo, is all, and some of the less 'unique' CD's for it.

It was well past midnight when the two finished up, and locked the door behind them. Xander had already told Buffy he'd just stay on her sofa that night, so they could get a fairly early start the next morning. The only thing Buffy wanted to make sure of, was that they didn't show up to the apartment too early, so William could sleep in a bit. She smiled as she thought of him, while she got ready for bed that night. _He was nice, and he had an accent that was to die for_, she thought, as she slipped between the covers. Buffy ended up falling asleep with a smile on her face.

*****

Xander's eyes flew up as he jumped up, and fell from the couch. His heart was racing a mile a minute, and he had yet to figure out why. His vision cleared from the sleepiness, and he found he was staring into Buffy's smiling face. She was sitting on the recently vacated couch, looking down at him, beaming like it was Christmas morning.

"What in the name of all that's holy was that for?"

"Get UP! It's moving day! It's almost 9, and it's moving day! We need to pack, and get rid of stuff, and pack the truck, then unpack the truck, and there is way too much to do, and you're still laying there! Get up!" Buffy had long ago perfected her 'get-Xander-to-agree-to-anything' voice years ago. It held just the slightest bit of whininess, just right for serving it's purpose. Xander groaned, then whined, and finally stood up. Xander reached over, and shoved Buffy until she was on the ground.

"Hey, that wasn't nice!"

Xander smirked and looked down at her. She was so cute when she was mad at him. When they had first met, he had a world class crush on her. Over the years, they had grown into a comfortable friendship, which he wouldn't change for anything. Besides, he had recently met an odd girl, Anya, who had moved into the house next to his parents. While she was slightly off putting, she was all gorgeous to him. It may be a cliché and all, but he liked the girl next door.

"You gonna sit on your butt all day, or are we gonna move? Come on, Buff. Get UP!" He grinned at the outraged look on her face as she stood up, her nose coming to just barely the top of his chest. Buffy glared up at him, then her hands flew to his sides and started tickling him. "Hey, not called for! Uncalled for! Besides, I am sooo much better at it!" Xander was squirming around, but his own hands managed to find her sides, and started doing her own squirming.

*****

Nearly thirty minutes later, they had eaten, cleaned up, and were starting to pack some of the boxes Xander had procured from work. Buffy was sitting in the middle of her nearly bare living room, looking at the furniture. She wanted to get rid of most of it, but had decided to ask some of her neighbors if they wanted it first. That would save them a trip to the donation center. She was carefully wrapping a framed picture of her and her mother when Xander came back with 2 of her neighbors.

"What all do you want to keep, Buffy?" Xander asked, as the neighbors stood watching.

"My dining room set, my bed, the large dresser, and… well, that's all, really. The rest of the furniture can go. It needs to be gotten out today, though."

Xander nodded, and the neighbors wandered around, and started calling out what they wanted. There was a minor squabble over the couch, but they settled it themselves. Buffy stood up, and disappeared into the kitchen, carrying a packed box in her hands. She had started to pack the kitchen up the other night, so that was all set. She had to pack a few small things she had hung on the walls, and the meager amount of food in her cupboards. She took the clock down, and placed it near the box, so that it could go on top. Then, she took down the pictures of fruit her mother had gotten for her. It didn't take long for the kitchen to be packed.

Walking back into the living room, Buffy saw that Xander had cleared out the small end tables, and the desk, and was coming back in with one of the neighbors to hoist the sofa up and carry it out of the door. She walked towards her bedroom, and found that her small dresser was also gone, and she smiled. She was glad it had gone to someone who could use it. Her bed was stripped and ready to be unassembled. Her dresser drawers were out, but not empty. Xander had told her to just leave them packed, and save on box space.

All she could think of as she carried a box into the microscopic bathroom, was Good Riddance. She wanted to be done with this apartment today. The bathroom was a fast packing job, just a few towels, a hamper, and some bath gels and shampoos. Once the room was cleared, Buffy took the hamper out and sat it near the front door. By now, her living room was pretty much bare. Xander was carrying out a desk, and the young single mother from next door was carrying a chair behind him.

Before too long, Buffy and Xander were loading the last of the boxes into the back of his truck. It was a tight squeeze, but they were able to complete it all in one trip. Buffy walked into her apartment to take one last look, and glanced around. The apartment seemed even more dirty and worn out without anything to pretty it up. After a quick look around, Buffy locked the door, and left without a glance back. While she felt great to be leaving, she felt bad for the next poor soul who would be staying there.

It was nearly 2pm before Buffy and Xander got into the truck to head out. Buffy had boxes and bags of stuff surrounding her as she pulled the door shut. She was so packed in, she couldn't see out the window in front of her. They took off, singing loudly along with the radio as they drove the few miles across town to the new apartment. When they arrived, Xander had to come and let Buffy out, because she couldn't reach the door handle. She tumbled out with a grin as duffle bags fell out with her.

"Nice coordination, Buffster!" Xander's voice was gleefully teasing as he poked at her sides. They grabbed a few of the bags, and went up to the security door as Buffy dug out her key. She unlocked the door, and held it open for Xander to enter. They trooped upstairs, and were about to unlock the door to the apartment, when it opened.

"Been 'specting you two. Need help, then?" William smiled at them, and Buffy smiled brightly as she looked at him, only to have Xander nudge her from behind into the apartment. With a bit of a blush, she entered, and sat her bags down.

"You wouldn't be wrong." Xander responded to William. He moved in, and took the bags up to the loft, noting that it was mostly clear of boxes, with just the furniture Buffy wanted left in it. Downstairs Buffy noticed a stack of more boxes in the kitchen. William was wearing just a pair of black sweats, and a ratty looking old t-shirt from a Billy Idol concert. He was pulling on a pair of shoes, before exiting the door. Buffy followed behind him.

Buffy kept to the smaller objects, light boxes and bags mostly. Xander and William lugged the furniture up. Before too long, her bed was set up, her table was upstairs with the chairs, and her boxes and bags were all around her. She laid back on the floor, staring up at the skylight, and smiling. Xander and William were downstairs, playing video games loudly, and drinking beer.

Tonight would be the first night in the apartment, in her new life. Buffy was thrilled, but also apprehensive. Being around another person she barely knew felt like spending the night at a strangers house. Xander had opted to try and move in the next day, Sunday. Buffy had to work an afternoon shift at the diner, but had agreed to help him in the morning. William said he'd help as well. Between the three of them, Xander should be moved in by the time Buffy got home from work tomorrow. She wasn't scheduled for a long shift, which irked her, but money was money, so the 4 hour shift was still welcome.

Later that evening, Buffy was upstairs unpacking. Xander had left a while ago, and William was pacing around the living room, feeling like a caged tiger. Finally, he sat down and checked his emails, and started playing World of Warcraft. It held his attention for a bit, until Buffy started letting her empty boxes slide down the stairs. That drew his attention back towards the loft, and the girl in it.

He got up, and started stacking the empty boxes by the door. They were going to take them to Xander the next morning. Once that was done, he watched the stairs for several minutes, before starting up them. Buffy was sitting on the floor, her back to the stairway. There was an open box in front of her, and she was unwrapping small knick knacks and setting them up on a book shelf in front of her. William leaned against the wall, and watched her silently for several minutes. His eyes traveled down the slope of her neck, and across her back. Her hair had been pulled back in a sloppy pony tail, and tucked into a messy bun.

While she worked, he held in a smile and reminded himself that she was his flat mate now, that she was sleeping where he and Dru once slept, that she had even kept some of Dru's things to fill out the room. He finally forced his gaze from her, and turned to walk back down the stairs without a word. William crossed the room, and opened the slider door to the balcony. He sat outside with a cigarette for a while, sorting his thoughts.

_**AN: I changed around the ending a bit, and I added about 500 words to this version of chapter 4. I hope you enjoyed it- and remember, feed your starving author with reviews! I also posted another story over the weekend, Slow Burn- don't forget to take a peek! It's another AU/All-Human Spuffy story.**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

One week later

Buffy came walking down the steps, wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, with her ducky PJ bottoms peeking out under the hem. She had matching ducky slippers on her feet. Earlier in the week, Buffy had woken up when William came home, and they sat up talking for a bit, and eating together. It was comfortable, for both of them, and had become a habit. Now Buffy sat her alarm for just before William would arrive home. By the time he got there, she would have a pot of coffee going, and the boxes of cereal setting on the counter.

Xander thought they were insane- Buffy for getting up so early, and William for drinking coffee in the morning after working all night, instead of going to bed. Buffy thought it was nice, though, and William was growing to treasure their quiet mornings together, despite being wired for a good couple of hours after drinking the coffee. He was tempted to switch out the coffee can with decaf, but hadn't yet. To Xander, though, it was precious time robbed from his sleep.

After walking into the kitchen, Buffy started the pot of coffee, and pulled out bowls. She grabbed spoons, cereal, and lastly, the milk and creamer. William was an Irish Mint person, where as she was a Double Chocolate person. It wasn't uncommon for them to do both creamers, though. Buffy grabbed a carton of orange juice from the fridge, and took a swig just as William was walking in from the hallway.

"Busted! I knew someone was drinking my juice. Man's got to have his own things, don't he?" His words sounded stern, but the twinkle in his eyes gave away that he didn't mind nearly as much as it sounded. Buffy found herself blushing, none the less. She capped the juice and stuck it in the fridge. William leaned against the fridge with one arm, and peered down at her.

"Get over it, bottle blonde. We split the grocery bill." She giggled as she ducked under his arm to take the freshly brewed pot of coffee out, and fill their mugs. William came up behind her, and stuck his head over her shoulder to look down at the coffee. Buffy found herself having a small problem pouring as she felt his warm breath on her neck and ear. It was sending shivers down her spine. She forced herself to take a deep breath, stay steady, and finish pouring the mugs of coffee.

"Give a girl some space, why don't ya? You want me to accidentally spill hot scalding coffee all over myself?" Inside, however, Buffy was reveling in his nearness. He smelled slightly sweaty, with an underlying scent from his bath products, all fresh and manly. She kept her mind in check when she turned to give him his coffee. He hadn't moved, was still right behind her, his nose now only an inch or two from hers, and the look in his eyes was hard to read. She thrust the mug at him, forgetful of th scalding contents, and the hot liquid splashed onto her wrist.

"Ow! Move it, you big oaf!" William stepped back quickly and took the mug from her hands, and sat it down on the counter. Buffy was busy cursing him, coffee, and heat when he pulled her by the uninjured hand to the sink, and ran some water. He had to pry the hand from her mouth to shove it under the luke warm water.

"You couldn't have just moved, could ya? Just had to make me spill… Well, next time, it'll be you I spill it on!" Her curses grew silent as the painful throbbing finally started to let up, and she kept her eyes down on the angry splash of red on her wrist."

"Sorry bout that, pet. Dinn't realize you were gonna turn so fast." It was a lie, and he knew it, but bloody hell, he wasn't about to admit she had caught him off guard in the grips of a fantasy, fueled by the smell of warm vanilla her body exuded. He quietly stepped back, and watched as she let the tepid water flow across her skin.

Buffy continued to curse softly under her breath, talking mostly to herself, though she did look up to glare at him twice. William couldn't quite contain the smirk on his face as he peered at her over the top of his cup of coffee. A moment later, she turned the water off, walked over towards the table, and pulled out a chair. Buffy curled one leg up under her bottom and sat down, one leg propped up on the middle seat.

Will watched her for a moment, then leaned back against the counter to sip at his coffee. "How was your night? Learning the ropes at the shop all right?"

Buffy was busy pouring cream into her coffee, making it a milky color. She glanced up at Will and smiled a bit. "I think I'm beginning to understand just how many wacky people there really are here in Sunnnydale. If I don't know some of the things yet, they mostly do, and point out when I make a mistake. Anyway, it's getting easier. And, I got paid yesterday. My first ever totally splurgable check. And, it's my day off from the diner." She was practically beaming, her mind filling with the fun things she could do with her day, the shopping she could do, and the movie she had been thinking about seeing.

"So, then, what's on the plan for today?" William asked her as he poured a bowl of cereal for her, and himself. He carried them over, sat them down, then retrieved his coffee and sat across from her. He knew he'd be up for hours yet, thanks to the coffee, but he loved their time together in the morning, so he'd just drink it, and talk with her, regardless of the caffeine affect.

"I'm thinking shopping this morning, followed by a much needed hair cut, and then a movie. I have to work at the Magic Box, but not till 5. Sleep for you?"

"Actually, I was thinking I needed to get some shopping done. Maybe we could do it together?" He strived to keep the hopeful tone from his voice as he casually looked towards her and sipped his coffee. She nearly groaned herself at the boyish smile on his face.

"I suppose we could. When do you wanna leave?"

"Now?" Spike asked. Buffy glanced down at her clothing, and shook her head quickly.

"No, no… I would rather _attract_ guys, not _repel_ them." _Specifically you_, she thought.

"Buffy, luv, you couldn't repel them if you had bright green hair, red polka dots on your face, and you were wearing a gunny sack." _Especially me_, he thought. She started to laugh, and just rolled her eyes at him as she hopped up from the chair, and placed her mug and bowl in the sink.

"Fine, fine. Give me ten minutes to change, and I'll be down." She disappeared around the kitchen corner, and up the steps, eager to get shopping. William watched her, then cleaned up the kitchen and disappeared into the bathroom to clean up a bit. He finally put a clean dark blue shirt on, and came back out to wait for her.

Buffy reappeared several minutes later, wearing his death on her body. A short jean skirt revealed long tanned legs to him. On top, a skimpy layer of bright colored tank tops. Her hair was brushed into a simple pony tail. She had sandals on her feet, and a purse over her shoulder. A pair of big white framed sunglasses were perched on her head.

"Ready?" William just groaned, and nodded.

*****

"Oh, for the love of- Hurry up and pick something out already!" Will was growing more than a little exasperated with her incessant need to try everything on two and sometimes three times. Though, he found no fault in getting to judge some of the outfits. She had tried on short skirts, long skirts, tube tops, tank tops, and something called a camisole. To his apparently untrained eye, it looked a lot like a tank top. Jeans came flying from the dressing room, ad landed at his feet in defeat. Sighing, William bent to snatch them up, then handed them to an irritated looking sales lady.

"I'm hurrying! It's just I never get to buy new things. I'm picky! It's hard to get used to the idea that I can just pick a few of them, and get them all."

"Then bloody well pick everything you want, and let's get out of here. I feel like nancy-boy vibes are gonna pick me out and invade my very strapping, and obviously manly body. They only pick the virile ones, you know!" William was pacing back and forth, his hands folded together behind his back as his eyes focused on her bare legs, showing from the calves down, under the dressing room floor. He groaned as he saw something denim hit the ground, before her bare feet stepped out of it.

"Spike? Is that my litt'l darling?" A soft feminine voice called out from behind him. His heart just bout dropped to the floor when he heard it, and turned slowly to look behind him.

"Drusilla. Heard the circus was back in town. They let you out for some fresh air, or did you break out of the cage again?"

"You are my sweet," Drusilla drawled as she smiled at William. Behind Will, the dressing room door opened, and Buffy stepped out wearing an impossible short jean skirt, and a black draped halter top. She walked over to the mirror to look at it, her back bare except a string holding the shirt around her. Drusilla's eyes moved past William towards her, and he followed her gaze. Buffy looked at William and smiled.

"Maybe a little too slutty? I like the top, but I don't think the bottom is anywhere near long enough…" She trailed off and turned to look again in the mirror.

Dru turned her attention back to William, and noticed the telltale smile he ware as he let his eyes drift slowly and adoringly over Buffy. "Tsk, tsk, it's not polite to look at other women. She doesn't even know your name. She speaks out of turn, and is a bad example, and shall have no cakes today." William turned back towards her with a scowl.

"You'll be leaving her alone, Drusilla. Just turn, and go back to whatever cave you crawled out of." Will told her, before Buffy came up beside him. She looked at the dark haired beauty beside Will, and wondered who she was. She felt an dropping sensation in the pit of her stomach.

"Will, do you like the top?" She asked softly. Drusilla focused her sharp, hawk-like eyes on the blonde girl, sniffed slightly, and turned her eyes back to Will. William's eyes drifted back towards Buffy, and he began to open his mouth to reply.

"Yes, Will… do you like it?" She drawled out softly, emphasizing the name Will as she talked. Will's eyes went sharply back to Dru, peering into her own innocent orbs, before nodding to Buffy.

"Buffy, luv, it's great. Why don't you go get ready, and I'll meet you outside. I need a smoke rather badly right now."

"But Spike, aren't you going to introduce me to your litt'l girl?" Buffy's eyes went to Drusilla's at the mention of the moniker Spike.

"I dropped that name like I dropped the rest of that part of my life, on it's arse. Now, if you'll both excuse me, I'll be outside." Will looked apologetically towards Buffy, then turned and stalked silently away. Both girls watched him leave, and Buffy turned towards the dressing room. Before she got even a step, however, Drusilla's manicured hand clutched tightly at Buffy's forearm, squeezing it tightly, the nails pinching into the soft flesh of the underside.

"You've been very naughty. You're a dirty, dirty girl, leading my Spike on. He loves me, you'll see." Drusilla's eyes glittered dangerously as she eyes the blond in front of her. She let go with a bit of a shove, sending Buffy back from her. Before Buffy could respond to her, Drusilla was gone, and exiting the front of the shop. She watched as Drusilla spoke to Will, then left, though she couldn't tell if he responded at all.

Buffy frowned, then turned and entered the dressing room. As she pulled the shirt off, she noticed that Drusilla's 'claws' had cut in and left scratches on her arm, and a bruise was already forming. Buffy usually bruised a bit easily, so it likely would look far worse than it would actually be. She was cursing the clearly insane woman as she pulled her own skirt and tank tops back on, and carried the pile of clothing she wanted up to the register. William was still outside, smoking as he leaned against the store front.

She paid, and exited the shop slowly, her thoughts all jumbled up in her head. If she understood right, that was the old roommate. She already knew from the letters she had seen that they were likely more than just roommates. She had to wonder at how it had ended. Neither of them looked like they were being all that pleasant towards the other. For now, Buffy thought it best just to ignore the situation, so rather than bringing it up, she brought up his growling need for lunch he had brought up 15 minutes ago as she lugged more clothing into the dressing room.

Will looked up from the ground where he was stabbing out the tip of his cigarette, and sighed almost too softly to be heard. "Yeah, pet. Sounds fine. Pizza Buffet?" He pushed his shoulders away from the glass storefront, and went to take the bag from Buffy when he noticed the dark skin and scratches on her arm. "What the soddin hell is that?" He pulled her arm gently towards him, and glanced darkly up at her.

"It's nothing, Will. Can we just go get some pizza? I'm hungry, and a hungry Buffy is a crabby Buffy." She pulled her arm from him, and walked towards his car. When she reached it, she turned and glanced back. He was standing on the sidewalk still, his eyes closed as he opened and closed his hands, balling them into fists several times. Finally he took a deep breath, and turned towards her.

"You're not going to tell me what I already know, so I won't press it, luv. But if she ever comes near you again, you tell me." He said it quietly, without looking directly at her. Without another word, he got into the car, and waited for her to do the same.


End file.
